DM Monitoring
NEW DELHI: Leaders of protesting Indian farmers began a one-day hunger strike on Monday against agricultural reforms they say threaten their livelihoods, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to withdraw the legislation.
Farmers have been demonstrating for nearly three weeks against deregulation of the agriculture sector that will allow them to sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers are assured a minimum price. “We want them to repeal the laws,” said Gurbax Singh, a protest leader from the northern state of Punjab, which is at the forefront of the opposition, as he and other leaders began a hunger strike at a main protest site.Small growers fear the changes, part of Modi’s liberalising reforms, will mean the end of price support for staples such as wheat and rice and leave them at the mercy of big business.
Modi has sought to allay concerns, telling farmers they will gain new rights and opportunities. The reforms, contained in three laws enacted in September, loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce.
Six rounds of talks between government officials and farmers’ union leaders have failed to resolve one of the most pressing issues facing Modi’s government.
The government has said while the reforms can be amended it is determined to liberalise the sector. Farmers last week rejected a government’s proposal to amend the legislation. Farmers from Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana, which border New Delhi, have been at the vanguard of the agitation, and have set up protest camps in and around the capital.
Farmers would step up protests at district headquarters throughout the country, said Kamal Preet Singh Pannu, a leader of the Sanyukta Kisan Andolan (United Farmers’ Protest), one of 30 groups opposing the reforms. Farmers from the western state of Rajasthan tried to join the protest on Monday but authorities stopped them from entering New Delhi, Yogendra Yadav, a prominent social activist and farmers’ leader said on Twitter.
Moreover, Farmers’ protesting against the Centre’s contentious new laws have intensified their protests over the last few days, blocking the major Delhi-Jaipur highway and going on hunger strike.
At least five rounds of formal talks have taken place between the Centre and the representatives of thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, but the deadlock has continued, with the unions sticking to their main demand for a repeal of the three contentious laws and repeatedly rejecting the government’s offer to make certain changes in the legislations and give written assurances or clarifications on a few issues such as the minimum support price (MSP) and the “mandi” (wholesale market) system.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea seeking direction to authorities to immediately remove the farmers who are protesting at several border points of Delhi against three new farm laws, on December 16. The plea says that commuters are facing hardships due to the road blockades and the gatherings might lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
According to the website of the apex court, a bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian will hear the plea filed by law student Rishabh Sharma, who has also sought directions to authorities to open the roads at Delhi’s borders, shift the protesters to the allotted place and provide guidelines on social distancing and use of masks at the protest site in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The petition has claimed that the Delhi Police had, on November 27, allowed the protesters to hold a peaceful demonstration at the Nirankari ground in Burari here, but despite that, they have blocked the borders of the national capital.
“Because of the ongoing protest at Delhi’s borders, the roads have been blocked by the protesters and the border points have been closed, which have affected vehicular traffic and people who are travelling to and from Delhi to get medical treatment in reputed government/private hospitals,” the plea, filed through advocate Om Prakash Parihar, said.
It referred to the October 7 order of the top court, delivered on a petition against the blockade of a road in the Shaheen Bagh area here by those protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which said public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely and demonstrations expressing dissent have to be staged at designated places alone.
